Henry Giroux on the Rise of Trump, the Roots of Authoritarianism, and Its Impact

Henry Giroux recently wrote, "Authoritarianism has now become viral in America, spreading its toxic ideology into every facet of American life. The threat of totalitarianism with its legions of alt-right political zombies has now exposed itself, without apology, knowing full well that it no longer has to code or apologize for its hatred of all those who do not fit into its white-supremacist and ultra-nationalist script."

Henry Giroux is the McMaster University professor for Scholarship in the Public Interest and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Ryerson University.

Jerry Lembcke on Lost Wars and the Trump Phenomenon

In a recent article, "Trump Is the Price We’re Paying for Our Lost Wars," Jerry Lembcke draws parallels between the Germany’s loss in WWI, that gave rise to Nazism, and the loss of the war in Vietnam -- the backstory to the sour national mood that Trumpism now exploits. "Unable to accept the truth of its defeat to a small outgunned nation of Asian-others, the pro-war U.S. right spun a betrayal narrative for the loss of the war in Vietnam: the military mission was sold out by radical communists in the streets and universities, liberals in congress, and a feminizing of the culture that sapped the will-to-war."

Jerry Lembcke is Associate Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Holy Cross College, and the author of The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam, Hanoi Jane: War, Sex, & Fantasies of Betrayal, and PTSD.

Standing Up at Standing Rock

November 20, Standing Rock Water Protectors attacked with water cannon.

On Sunday night, November 20, a group of about 40 water protectors walked to the bridge on Highway 1806 which police have been occupying. As they were attempting to remove some of the burnt out vehicles which were being used as part of the police blockade, they were attacked by police using a variety of weapons: tear gas grenades, water cannon, rubber bullets. Hundreds more water protectors rushed to the scene, and in the end, nearly 200 were injured, some seriously. The fighters at Standing Rock are not only defending the lives, water, and humanity of the Standing Rock tribe, but standing up against centuries of genocide against all Native peoples in America, and standing up against the further destruction of the earth’s environment.

We'll hear from the revcoms who have been at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, uniting with this historic struggle and reporting from the ground.